


And Now the Clean Up

by WriterToa



Series: Trolls World Wide [2]
Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020), Trolls World Tour, Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon)
Genre: Don't worry the angst isn't too bad and its mostly later, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Oc's mentioned - Freeform, Panic Attacks, TBGO canon, beta-read by my sister who's awesome, bounty hunter trolls, my brain would not shut it about this one and I'm glad, there's some threads of worldbuilding in this that'll grow as I continue the series, trolls from TBGO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterToa/pseuds/WriterToa
Summary: Between the Broppy high-five and the ending song, time must have passed. There's homes to rebuild, world views to change, and feelings needing sorting. Not everything can be smiled away, after all.
Relationships: Branch/Queen Poppy (Trolls), Queen Essence/King Quincy (Trolls)
Series: Trolls World Wide [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984652
Comments: 10
Kudos: 56





	1. Homeward

**Author's Note:**

> Welp Trolls has stolen my heart and mind lol. I hope to get the rest of this out in the next month or so but I'm just glad that, with the help of my sister, I got this out before NaNoWriMo 2020. But also I'm glad I got this and others in the works before the new trolls show airs. I don't need even more Easter eggs lol

After the largest Troll symphony in generations, there was business to attend to. The crowd mingled with each other and Peppy was long gone into the hundreds of hairs. Business finished, the bounty hunters disappeared with a wave from Sheila B; a yelled promise to Branch to bring her to the Troll Tree after going home. Hickory personally promised to do so even with the eye roll from his brother as they flew off into the sky. At one point Poppy got Cloud Guys’ attention and talked about something while Branch grumped behind her. With a laugh, Cloud Guy winked and disappeared in a puff, and the Pop Trolls walked back towards the others. With them back, Barb awkwardly scratched her scalp as she cleared her throat.

“Well, I guess now's the time where I, like, say I'm sorry and whatever. For the whole capturing and brainwashing and whatever.”

The other leaders, still on stage after the song and joined by the Funk twins and the Snack Pack, turned to look at Barb with mixed reactions. Some were positive or in that realm. Poppy was smiling proudly, Branch was neutral with crossed arms, and the Funk King and Queen gently smiled back. While others looked more negative, reasonably so; Trollzart raised an eyebrow over a somewhat disbelieving look, Delta looked like she was making the choice to be civil, and Trollex didn’t seem to know how to take it. It seems like reminding them of the last week struck a nerve. The rest were just blatantly uncomfortable, with the twins standing close to their parents as always. Well, almost always, as the last hour plus 20 years would prove.

“I doubt you guys will take it and that's cool, I deserve it. But to start fixing things, how about I give you guys a lift back to your territories?” Barb offered with a thumb pointing behind her towards the parking lot. That’s where the angler buses were resting after the last week of nonstop travel.

“Not much a point when it's all burned to the ground, now is it?” Delta sniffed, and Barb nodded, kind of sheepish.

“ _Yaaaeeeh_ , probably went a _little_ overboard with the whole ‘world domination’ thing.” she held two fingers close to each other here. Then she dropped them and shrugged casually. “If it helps, I was gonna have everyone live here.”

“It doesn’t, really.” Trollex said flatly, hugging Beat to his chest. “Especially as my people can’t last too many days out of water. We’ve been drying out since you kidnapped us.”

“My people sustained injuries as well as unknown loss of art and music in your pursuits.” Trollzart said here, his hands clasped behind his back and his voice not unlike a disappointed teacher. “As well as at least one spire.”

“Not to mention what mess _we’ll_ have to clean up when we get back.” Branch added, neutrally, fingers tightening on his arms. Poppy placed a gentle hand on his arm.

Barb nodded to all that as Riff walked over after putting his drumsticks away. “Well, since we broke it, it's our mess to clean up. Not very rock to leave people in the rain, unless it's funny.”

“Oh, you don’t have too,” Poppy started holding her hands up as if to stop Barb.

“Actually that would be nice, Queen Barb,” Quincy cut in with a shared look to his family. “As we don’t know the state of our home,”

“Given we left it falling out of the sky.” Essence added calmly with a raised eyebrow. 

"Towards the Glitter Sands.” Cooper grimaced and shuddered. 

“Fast and probably hard enough to half bury it, and since we didn't close the doors then desert animals are _definitely_ making things worse.” D finished.

“Oh we can help with all that, we’re great at dealing with creatures.” Riff said excitedly, though if the look on Barb’’s face was anything to go off that might not be universally true. Poppy decided to speak up here as she saw something in the distance.

“Thanks for the offer Barb, but we Pop trolls got this. We deal with messes all the time; I'm sure whatever you did to the forest we can fix up in no time. Oh hey, how about everyone come to our village in a month for a party? We can introduce you to our friends and it’ll be in time for the Swag Stag Hunt my dad goes on every year!”

“Not with all that destruction,” Peppy said as he walked over with Barb’s dad. “They’d have gone deep into the woods from the noise,”

“Oh, well we have lots of things to celebrate so if you all are available in about a month?” Poppy looked around and the leaders all nodded or shrugged in Delta’s case. “Sweet, OK then we’ll send a messenger bug then. Bye!”

“Whoa, hold on! You dipping already?” Barb asked in surprise as the Snack Pack minus Cooper and Peppy waved ‘bye’ as they jumped or ran off the stage. Pop trolls who saw them very quickly followed them towards where Barb pointed earlier. Before then Cooper quickly hugged his aunt and uncle goodbye with a "See you in a week!" 

“Oh Troll yeah, we have _a lot_ to do to get ready for a party of this size and the sooner the better,” Poppy said, kind of fast, which seemed odd to Branch as he glanced at her subtlety. 

“Ah right, well the angler buses should be rested enough-”

“Nah don’t worry about it, we have a friend bringing us home.”

“That cloud you were talking too?”

“Yep! He is great with navigating the wormholes and apparently comes here all the time, so we Pop trolls will be home in an hour or less.”

“Wormholes?” Delta blinked, surprised and looking interested. “You Pop trolls willingly jump in those?”

“Eh, depends on the ‘willingly’,” Branch joked with a knowing shared laugh with Cooper and Poppy. “But yeah, we’ll be fine.”

“If you're sure,” Barb shrugged then turned to the rest. “My offer still stands,”

While the other leaders talked with Barb about returning home Poppy and Branch said bye to Cooper and left after the rest. Not long with the help of their hair they reached the parking lot. There being filed by the Pop trolls were three Mega Critterbuses. Branch quickly got in the driver's seat of one and Poppy climbed in behind in the last bus. That one was being driven by Milton who was looking a little nervous but smiled at Poppy and gave her a thumbs up. If the smile looked a little weak Poppy didn’t point it out. 

From the front bus Cloud Guy leaned out the window and inflated his hand so everyone could see the thumbs up. With everyone loaded Cloud Guy sat back down and put petal to the metal and the bus took off so fast it sent ash into the air. Unfazed, Branch followed and Milton did too with a ‘you got this’ smile from Smidge. Rock trolls in the lot yelled in surprise and dove out of the way. The leaders of the tribes stood in shock at the exit of the volcano stadium as the buses headed towards a cliff over lava.

“Dudes!” Barb gasped out, not one of them able to stop the buses in time from their spot. The buses didn’t deviate from their path and before everyone's eyes a wormhole opened up in the air. The first bus jumped over the cliff and disappeared inside followed in perfect sync with the other two. The wormhole closed with a distinctive Pop riff and just like that the Pop trolls were gone.

“...Those trolls ain't right.” Deltia said in a wide wide head shake. The other leaders chuckled in agreement and Cooper laughed.

  
“You think that's something, you’ll _love_ what the one to the Troll Tree does,” he laughed.


	2. To Business as... Usual?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the seeds are watered from the previous planting.  
> (Is that a metaphor? Oh hey a dollar store-! 'laughs myself into a coughing fit')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm adding more tags from here on as now I have most of this three part story done I have a better idea what I need to tag for. I will add warnings at the start of any story I think will have anything triggering as a heads up.
> 
> In this chapter is slight signs of a panic attack but its short near the bottom. As a added indicator it happens after 'Until she was alone.'

Three jumps took the 3 Megacritter buses from the rocky land of the Rock trolls and back to the forest they called home. Popping outside the last wormhole gave Branch the chance to swap places with the front bus. As they got closer to the village Branch pulled a small remote from his hair. Eyes still in front of him he expertly aimed it everywhere, turning off the traps one by one. Or the ones still around anyway. He wasn’t sure yet if he should be proud of how few were still active, or depressed that in the end, they weren’t enough. Although after seeing what the other trolls had at their disposal, maybe he could be somewhere in the middle. When they finally parked in what used to be the village square, everyone let out sighs of relief. This was boosted by the sight of several Boring Beatles flying away at their arrival.

"Well everybody, the last few days have been  _ a lot _ , but now we have work to do!" Queen Poppy said with a clap of her hands. She jumped out of the bus, wincing, but moving on fast enough that no one saw. She made a funnel out of her hair and took a big breath. “First off, the secret password is  _ Marshtato _ !”

With that yell five of the trolls that had managed to avoid the Rock Tour appeared, two dropping down from trees, one uncamouflaged under their hair, and the last popped up like daisies from the ground. Seeing everyone was back they all made funnels of their own hair and turned towards different places in the forest. “Haaaaaiiiirrr Up!”

With that the rest appeared, most coming from the tunnels that lead to dug out shelters Branch spearheaded to be built after the last animal attack. Everyone was ecstatic, and that led to lots of happy hugs and songs for quite some time. Then Branch gently elbowed a smiling Poppy in the arm then cupped his hands around his mouth.

“OK, that’s enough everyone, we got work to do! Builders with me, Shakers with Queen Poppy, Movers you do you!” he shouted, receiving return calls as the trolls split up into groups. Builders heading for a camouflaged tent that was hastily put back up. The Shakers were any troll too tired, stressed, or young to help with the village rebuild so they helped anyone injured to find places to rest now that they were home. Movers were trolls that were in the middle, so they moved about the village wherever they were needed.

“Whelp, I have to be moving on myself.” Cloud Guy said with an over dramatic look to a watch on his wrist that slid up and down with every move.

“Oh, no, already?” Poppy said sadly. Cloud Guy nodded with a smirk.

“It must have slipped my mind, but _ I _ got a date today. I need to go puff myself up; might have found a real Lucy in the Sky with this one.”* Cloud Guy said giving Poppy a wink and a silly high five. Then he jumped into the air and flew off with a yell to “Tell Branch not to miss me too much!”

She didn't have the chance to as Branch's stink eye he sent after the cloud was very clear, so Poppy just laughed it off and went to work. Thankfully, there was already repair work started on the village while they were gone. The repairs were subtle, in case the Rock trolls returned to wreak more havoc. Plus with so many trolls gone the remaining had to deal with Boring Beatles dropping from the air at random. Still there was enough done that Poppy was able to send Shakers to either their pods or the doctors' with no real trouble.

The Snack Pack split up to help all over, with Smidge offering (with a little persuasion from Poppy for some space as Smidge was back to her 'super helper' act) to let DJ Suki know what happened. She and a few other trolls, like her niece CJ, were personally requested by King Gristle to help him set up Keyboard-Mania. He had wanted to top his last keyboard related event so hiring trolls was the smartest idea, of course. So thanks to this several trolls were scheduled to return home in a day and would have had a horrible surprise waiting for them.

Free from her well meaning friend, Poppy worked to find things to do and ended up checking on everyone by noon. Except for her dad, who was oddly missing. Choosing not to freak out by the very thought of him being missing  _ (oh Great Troll did we leave him behind? No, we couldn’t have- calm down) _ , Poppy found Branch in the crowd instead.

"Branch! Have you seen my dad?" She asked after sliding around a pair of trolls carrying furniture. Branch looked up from his clipboard and shook his head.

"Not since he got off my bus; I think he was heading to his pod. Want me to help you look?"

"Nah, thanks though, be right back!'' Poppy said then with a heel spin dance walked towards her dad's pod. She could run, but she was still sore from falling in her cage so she didn’t push it. Besides, the trip didn't take long, especially when most of the trolls were hard at work in the village square.  _ Oh wait, got to remember the Pop part now. It’s the Pop Square now, though it could be more catchy.  _ Poppy mused cheerfully in her head as she knocked on her dad's door. Hearing some shuffling sounds coming from inside, she waited, bouncing on her heels. Then the door opened and there stood Former King Peppy.

"Poppy! Come in, I was just coming to talk to you," he said with a bright grin. The two moved from the doorway and into the pod. The inside was tidy and seemed to have avoided being set on fire. If anything was odd it was the bags on the floor in the ending stage of packing. Four in total, though one looked empty.

“What are the bags for, dad?” Poppy curiously asked, tilting her head to look as Peppy picked up a bag. He closed the top but not before his daughter could see the clothes inside. “Your pod is fine, you don’t have to leave.”

“Actually, that is exactly what I need to do.” Peppy said cheerfully as he slipped the bag on his back and moved to the table by the wall. On it was his cane and old crown sitting on top of the map of the Troll known world. This was a more detailed one that showed the journey from the Troll Tree to the village.

“What?!” squawked Poppy rushing to his side, her eyes wide in disbelief. “What are you talking about; we just got back home!”

Peppy sighed and seemed to grow older as he slumped down into a stool. He looked Poppy in the eye steadily, hands steepled together. “Poppy, during your travels did you learn more of our history? Beyond what I told you and everyone?” 

Poppy nodded frowning as she took another stool and sat down, kicking her feet back and forth. “Yeah, a little. What does that have to do with you leaving?”

“While in captivity, the other leaders and I talked about the Strings and the Split. Between us all we found out that while most of the tribes have stories of the Split, Techno didn’t. All they knew, according to King Trollex, was the Strings were the source of our music and to be protected. So when Barb appeared they had no warning of what was coming or even who they were. But that is not the only discrepancy, nor the worst,”

“Oh, do you mean how it was Pop’s fault for the Split in the first place? Yeah, the Funk family told Branch, Hickory and I.” a nodding Poppy explained. Peppy’s serious face turned grave at this and it made Poppy feel like a stone was lodged in her chest.

“They did the same for the rest of us. The news was hard to hear; as for their words to be true then that means my mother either lied, or withheld the truth from me.”

“Or Grandma Pansy didn’t know at all either!” Poppy quickly defended the troll she never got to meet, and Peppy held up his hand in a placated kind of way.

“Right, Poppy. That is also a possibility and one I hope is true. Because unless my memory is worse than I realize, I swear by the Mother Tree I didn’t know.”

At Peppy’s words Poppy sucked in a breath. A troll swearing by the Mother Tree was the highest kind you could do. That, coupled with her fathers’ steady and determined look and a glance at the map on the table gave Poppy the last puzzle piece.

“You're going back to the Tree.”

“Yes.” Peppy leaned forward and took his daughters’ hand in his, gently rubbing his thumb on it. “I need to find out  _ our _ truth, or as close to the truth that we have. I need to return to open the archives and find out the story of our past from our ancestors.”

“And you need to go now, before something happens to stop you.” Poppy finished for him, closing her eyes to rub her forehead. It was late summer and while that meant the weather should be fine for traveling, that also meant lots of animals were awake and roaming the forest. Never mind any troubles the village might end up with just because. “How are you getting there? Cloud Guy left an hour ago.”

“Already have that covered,” Peppy winked, suddenly jolly again, standing up and heading out the pod with Poppy following. He pointed down on the ground below his pod and Poppy could now see the Flyer Bug below in the shade. It was a van type, with dark purple fur and large wings on the sides with a surfboard on the roof. Petting it was a troll Poppy hadn’t seen in weeks and that was  _ before  _ the World Tour. The relief at the sight was wonderful and released some of the pressure in her heart. “You didn’t think I would go that far by myself, now did you?”

“The thought crossed my mind, yes.” she admitted teasingly as she used her hair to flip down to the ground, her dad following a beat behind with a laugh. The troll waiting by the bus waved at the two and got a hug in return from Poppy. This troll was the father of Ripley named Crash Dune. He was a dark red troll with the standard hairstyle, though it was a tad shorter and silver and blue streaked to match his beard. He had laugh lines on his face that finally took over the frown lines when his daughter was born, eyes that always seemed haunted and he wore a long coat no matter the weather, unless on the waves. His shirt was the same blue as his hair, pants were dark green with waves on the bottom, and he walked in sturdy sandals. Hanging from his neck was a necklace with a River Sharktooth, sea glass, and a pair of rings.

“Yo, how’s it been Queeny?” he greeted with a laugh in his chest and a pat on her back.

“Oh, other than the craziness and rushing around of the last few days I've been great!” Poppy said with a smile that was a little strained but Crash knew not to point it out. “How have you been, was your surf trip as fun as you said it would be?”

“Oh it was so tight, heavy waves dawn to dusk. I haven’t cut and hung ten that much since last month,” he said, making a wave move with his hand as Peppy loaded his first bag and pulled the rest out of his hair. 

“That’s what you say after every monthly trip,” Poppy pointed out amused. Crash winked at that, not bothering to deny it. “But you're back a day early, aren't you?”

“Nah, whenever the Noah's start moving close, that's when it’s time to head in. Theirs first, you know? But it sounds like I missed quite the sketchy meeting.”

“I’ll explain on the way, Crash.” Peppy said as he reappeared from the back of the van, the bags all stored away. He turned to Poppy and the two shared a long hug. “Don’t worry Popstar, I’ll be back in a few days, a week at the most if we have to force the door open after, what, 22 years?” he and Poppy shared a laugh at that, both knowing that if that actually happened, marshtatos would be in bloom all year long. More likely, if the door was stuck they'd return for help, most likely from Branch.

Peppy ended the hug and climbed into the Flyer van, and Poppy moved back to give them room. Crash pushed a button from his drivers seat, and with a gentle pet of the critter they were off into the air. Poppy waved until they were out of sight, her smile bright, until she was alone. With no one around to distract her or to see her crack, Poppy’s smile fell from her face and she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Her breathing started to speed up. Her hands felt numb, a ringing that was not musical grew in her ears in place of the silence.

“No, no, not now, there's work to do, trolls to help,” she grit through her teeth and grabbed her ears to smash them to the sides on her head. This didn’t stop the ringing but the pain from the act helped her pull back for the moment. “Deep down, locked in, through thick and thin. Deep down, locked in, through thick and thin.”

She chanted those words three more times before she felt in control enough to face her people. With a smile on her face she turned and ran back to the village square. The pain in her body was ignored as unimportant. Worry for her dad buried deep, new unpleasant feelings locked inside, and positive attitude so strong it had Branch grinning at the sight. She is the Queen of Pop Troll Village. Queen of the happiest creatures around.

She needed to act like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *When I wrote this down I forgot that Cloud Guy meet Cloud Girl in the credit party. Personally I like my idea so my universe he met her before, both were surprised to see each other at the party, and we'll go from there.
> 
> This and the next chapter have gone through lots of rereads and edits. Both are pretty long but I'm happy with what I polished up here with the help of my sister. The speed of which I put this out though was thanks to you guys! No lie I was so giddy when I saw the reviews I couldn't think straight to reply lol
> 
> Thanks for the song suggestions so far, please keep them coming! In looking for music to fit my world I've come to realize I'm more Techno-Pop-Funk-Hip Hop minded with a dabbling of Country, Rock and Classical to round it out of the canon tribes. I am planning on including other genres like Celtic and (spoilers), plus adding on others within the sub genres like J-Pop trolls and such.
> 
> If the surfer slang was confusing I can add the meaning down here later just let me know. Honestly I just looked up slang on the internet because all I knew was 'Whoooooaaaa, surfs up bro!'


	3. When it gets too much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just need to slow down...
> 
> Possible Trigger Warning: 
> 
> Probably inaccurate portrayal of a panic attack  
> Probably inaccurate protrayal of a way to help stop a panic attack
> 
> I wrote that above part with help from google research, years of reading similar attacks in other fanfictions, and some of my own experiences with what I think was more an anxiety attack. That doesn't mean I am a expert or know of any.

Branch knew something was up with Poppy. 

He knew from how she rushed from one job to the next, helping everyone she could find. Could hear it in how breathless she was as the hours slipped by. When she rubbed her back like it was sore when no one was looking, then jumped back into work. He saw it when, at last, the only jobs left that day were things trolls could do by themselves; now Poppy was suddenly without things to do. He wasn’t sure if he was reading the signs right at first, never having seen them in Poppy. Even when in a crisis he’d never seen her this off kilter. But he was sure now; as he worked with her at her right side in replanting, cleaning up, critter round up, talking party damage control with Sky Toronto, took stock of food supplies, and several other jobs she threw herself into. He didn’t know what to do at first, but as the day turned to night and trolls headed home for dinner, an idea hit him.

“Hey Poppy, I haven't checked on my bunker yet, want to join me?” he asked, slyly leading her that way with a little course correction.

Poppy shook her head, her eyes still following Keith as he ran home to his family. “Nah, I know how you feel about trolls in there when something like this happens. I don’t want to be in the way.”

“Well that's just it, Poppy, I could use your help.” Branch said calmly, taking one of Poppy’s hands, which startled a happy smile from her. Even two years after gaining his color back, Branch still didn’t really initiate this stuff in public. Honestly, if he wasn’t so nervous he could have tried this before the tour; it was the best way to gain her attention. But telling the troll you love that you love them can be hard, no matter how close you are. “I’m pretty sure things are fine, as my defenses were updated after that last Cloud Guy incident. But I’d like to be sure, and four eyes are better than two. Please?”

Poppy chewed her lip for a moment, which Branch noted, then she nodded. “Sure, lets go!” she declared, now the one pulling him forward to Branch’s amusement. The two knew the way to the bunker like the back of their hands, even in the dark. This meant that, with all the other trolls heading home, there was peace all around the pair. Normally this was when Poppy would start a song with Branch joining in if he wanted. But for some reason she couldn’t pick a song, only able to hum a wordless tune.

“With the speed of the repairs, I think we can have the other leaders visit in three weeks or so.” Branch said, walking with his arms behind his back. Poppy nodded, glad to have something to fill the quiet even if the topic made her stomach twist a little for some reason.

“That’s great! Once I get back to my pod I'll get started on the invitations, I’ll have to ask Posty if any of the mail fliers can make the trips, or maybe wait and use the wormholes,” Poppy mused out loud as the plan started to form in her head.

“Now I said we _could_ , doesn't mean we have too, Poppy. We might be able to bounce back fast thanks to experience, but I doubt the other tribes can. Then again I could be wrong; since no one seemed to jump at the chance of Rock helping out.”

“So maybe they will be done even faster than us! I better use two-day shipping then,” but once the words left her mouth, Poppy's face twisted up with the thought of _Oh wow, why do I feel so much dread?_ It was quickly pushed down, her face returning to a smile. She didn't want to give Branch an idea something was wrong. She didn’t think she succeeded as well as she hoped, from the look of his side eye.

Dark or not it wasn’t long before they reached the entryway to Branch’s bunker. Stepping forward, he pulled the remote from his hair again and the WELCOME mat slid back with the press of the button. The pair stepped onto the elevator and with the push of the lever they dropped down inside.

Branch let them go almost all the way down, stopping at the floor with his survival supplies. “How about you start here, keep an eye out for any Dust Bunnies though. When you're done down here come up to the main floors, I’ll be there.”

“Aye Aye, captain!” Poppy grinned cheekily and hopped into the storage room to start her task with earnest. She waved after Branch as he left for another floor, then grabbed the checklist on the nearby table and got to work. She didn't see the look of consideration on his face nor saw him tilting his head to watch her for as long as possible.

An hour or so later Poppy stopped the elevator at the main living floor, following her ears to a certain blue troll. He was humming under his breath as he swept some dust from the floor. It took her a second to recognize it was that song Delta Dawn was singing in Lonesome Flats. Hearing it made her remember the last few days again and it made her chest tighten. Shaking her head to focus she clapped her hands together with a cheerful smile to politely interrupt the singing.

“Everything from the Snozzle berries to the aloe vera are perfectly perfect. I finished pretty fast so I checked on the other supply floors between here. Not a bunny or critter around; the Rock trolls must not have found this place or the tunnels.”

“That’s good to know,” Branch said with a proud grin after turning towards her. “Now maybe Cloud Guy won’t sneak in here.”

“Well, I'm still raring to go so I'll go and see if Milton needs any help with his night critters,” Poppy said, turning on her heel and headed towards the elevator again.

“Actually Poppy, I was hoping you could help me with something else.”

Poppy stopped and turned back to Branch who had put the broom to the side and was cleaning his hands in his sink. He wasn’t facing her, so he didn’t see the annoyed twitch her eye did but he had an idea it was there, and he smirked to himself.

“Sure, what is it this time?” Ah yes, there was that faintly veiled sound of annoyance he had come to know.

Branch calmly dried his hands with a towel then beckoned Poppy to follow him. She did, and when they entered the eating room, the smell of fresh home cooking hit Poppy's nose and stomach like a Smidge high five.

“I need help eating all of this.” Branch said innocently, waving his hand towards everything.

“ _Braaanch_ ,” Poppy whined as said troll gently led her to a chair and helped her sit, pushing the chair in once she did. She blushed a little at this, but kept her frown. “I should be helping everyone settle for the night, you know how trolls can get after a stressful day.”

“Yep, and I’m sitting with one right now.” Branch said sitting down in his own chair. He picked up a chunk of already sliced bread with one hand to dunk in his soup. “You've been running around like you're being chased by a Cuddle Pup ever since we got back. Unless you ate when you were with Peppy, I haven’t seen you grab more than a sample bite from the ice cream stand since we left Volcanic Rock City. You can’t help anyone when you're running on fumes or getting sick; so just eat already.”

Poppy wanted to stand her ground but to be honest, Branch was right. She had been so busy she’d worked right through lunch. If Branch hadn’t made food already, she probably would have skipped dinner; she wasn’t in the mood to cook. She realized this when she looked over the spread Branch set up again and her gut nearly ripped itself out of her mouth. So instead of telling him he was right, Poppy showed it by stuffing the cabbage soup and Fun bread into her mouth, sighing in happiness and gaining a proud smile from Branch.

For a while the silence was pleasant between the two. Poppy was so famished she focused on eating over talking and Branch was giving her space. Finishing his portion of soup he went for the salad to finish. There was a sound, soft but noticeable in the quiet space. His ear twitched and he looked up to Poppy. She had finished her food and seemed to have slowed down enough to allow her walls to come down. Just enough to do what Branch guessed was happening all day. She was shaking, her shoulders were hunched and her eyes were staring without seeing.

Slowly standing, Branch walked around the round table and knelt on one knee by Poppy’s right side. “Poppy?” he said quietly then frowned when she didn't react. "Poppy, can you hear me? Queen Poppy, what’s wrong?"

Calling her 'queen' seemed to be a trigger as she swallowed hard. "I killed music. I killed it all, it was all in my hands and I snapped music in half!" She whispered to a strangled yell. She jumped to her feet and started pacing back and forth. Branch got up to his feet with his hands up to try and calm her down.

"No you didn't, remember? We have music inside of us, the Strings were just...embodiments of the different genres." he said with a circular hand wave, but this was another time where Poppy didn’t listen. Though to be more accurate, this time she _couldn't._ She kept pacing with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

“I didn’t even think-I just couldn’t let Barb get away with what she was doing, what she _did_ -was about to do, I failed you but even worse I killed _music_ ! The world turned grey, I-I caused it I caused trolls to go gray again, I should have listened why don’t I _listen what kind of queen doesn’t listen-!”_

“POPPY!”

Yelling was probably the wrong thing to do at this moment but Branch just reacted and it seemed to work. Poppy had worked herself to the point she was talking faster than breathing. Branch rushed to Poppy, grabbed her in a hug and held her tightly but not (he hoped) too tightly. He didn’t want her to feel trapped and he knew by now the power of a good hug. Troll knows he had wanted one during his own spirals. Whether it was from the yell or hug he didn’t know, but Poppy froze in place. Poppy’s words had stopped but she was still breathing heavily, face buried in Branches’ shoulder.

Branch took a moment to settle himself then calmly and evenly he spoke again, his eyes on the wall behind Poppy’s back. “Poppy, can you name five things you see? For me?”

Poppy’s breathing hitched. Then, slowly as she worked the words out through her short breath. “You...the floor. A shelf. My chair...Gary.”

“Good, that's good. How about four things you smell?”

“..Cabbage soup...fun bread...ash...grass.”

“Ahh yeah, I guess I should shower,” Branch muttered, giving his arm a sniff. Honestly everyone probably smelled like volcano and sweat. Maybe he should have showered before this. “Three things you can feel?”

“Your hug...the floor. Your vest.”

“Perfect, two things you can hear?”

“Your voice,” Poppy shifted in Branch's arms a tad, her ear pressing to his chest. “Your heartbeat.”

“Ok, now for the big win, what's one thing you can taste?”

Poppy was quiet for a moment bar a sniff then lifted her head up enough to look Branch in the face if not the eyes. “Cabbage mixed with tears.”

Branch smiled sadly at that but nodded. “Great job, Poppy, you win the 5-Sense game. For your prize, how about we sit down?” he offered as he let her go from the hug, taking her hands in his. They walked hand in hand to the next room then sat down next to each other on the couch. The room was a small sitting room with lamps for light and a rug on the floor. Poppy rubbed her eyes then pulled her legs up then wrapped her arms around them, facing Branch. She looked confused and embarrassed which Branch understood. “Are you ok now?”

“I think so, I don’t really know what that was.” Poppy admitted quietly with a frown.

“I’d say it was a panic attack. Or an anxiety attack, they’re pretty similar. It happens when a troll,” Branch paused as the thought of Bridget and Archer ran though his mind. “When _anyone_ has gone through something traumatic or scary or just overwhelming. They usually don’t last long but if you feel tired or like your gonna hurl, let me know ok?”

“But why do I feel like this? I’ve never felt this way before, and I know I’ve been scared lots of times before this last week.” Poppy asked with a tired arm wave to the general air. This felt different from her freak outs too, though maybe it was because she could usually scrapbook her panic away.

“Well maybe it took this last week for your body to reach its limit.” Branch shifted and leaned his arm on the back of the couch. “How about we talk it out; don’t worry, I promise _I’ll_ listen.”

“Ha ha, nice,” Poppy said deadpanned but the weak smile showed she wasn’t upset. As this last week had shown, she _did_ need to learn to listen more. She looked down at her hug time bracelet and fiddled with it. It must have broken at some point as it hadn’t gone off in a while. “...If I had listened to dad at the start, none of what happened would have. I killed music, everyone's music. Turned everyone and everything gray. I just reacted but I had the guitar in my hands, I could have just undid what Barb did but _nooo,_ I just slammed the 'embodiment of our cultures' to the ground.”

Branch nodded slowly as she continued. “Maybe if we had hid or if I had left the Pop String here, Barb would have given up on the idea and went home.”

“That is thinking too highly of Barb.” Branch said bluntly with a raised brow. “At least back then. Since we forgive her now, I guess. Come on Poppy; do you really think Barb would have stopped? Even if we hid somewhere, like my bunker, like I suggested, Barb knew where we lived. She knew who you were by name and title and you’ve only been Queen for a year. Trolls still call your dad king, so she must have been spying on us for a while. None of us saw her spies, not even me so it's pretty likely she knows where the bunker is.” here he huffed and added ruefully “Just like the Party Crashers mess; really hoped _that_ wouldn’t repeat.”

“Then we could've hid in the Troll Tree in Bergen Town.”

“And wouldn’t that be the first place she’d look?” he pointed out moving his hand like it was flying. “She has flying critters for all terrain, it wouldn't take much to attack us there.”

“Then we could have gone deeper into the forest, we know this place the best. Maybe even gotten help from the Sunflower people. Plus I don’t think Barb would have been willing to wait long enough to find us in in there,”

Branch thought about that then nodded. “That probably would have worked, until the Rock trolls started a forest fire to smoke us out. And it would have worked or gotten them eaten by the critters, whichever happened first.” Poppy growled in frustration and dropped her forehead to her knees.

Branch chuckled at that and gave her arm a comforting pat. “Hey, just saying. For all that power, Barb and her trolls don’t have _anything_ on the critters and monsters out to eat us on the daily. The Strings would have ended up in her hands, inside a hill critter or spider’s guts, or maybe even lost in the escape. Snapped is a nicer way to go, overall.”

Poppy sighed and got to her feet. She started to pace again but this time less frantically. Her hands fiddled with her hug bracelet still but she had a feeling it was dead. Her coat tail dragged on the ground behind her. She probably should have changed her clothes when they got back but that seemed frivolous. “...So no matter what we did, Barb was gonna win.”

“Not saying that.” Branch denied shaking his head and locking his fingers on his lap. He found the karma reversal of this situation both ironic and weird. But it was nice being able to help Poppy in the way she usually did for him.

“Looking back, if we had known about the other tribes we probably would have been better prepared, or had talked to them and had allies. Maybe if we moved back to the Troll Tree Barb wouldn’t have been so destructive. Maybe if everyone stayed together we’d have learned how to live with each other a long time ago. But we didn’t and now all we can do is keep moving forward.”

“But _how_?” Poppy almost didn't recognize her own voice; it sounded so lost.

“Staying stuck in the past isn’t the answer, that I know from experience.” Branch said looking at her with sad and understanding eyes. “All we can do is move forward. To be honest, I'm glad everything happened the way it did. Without Barb we’d have never left the forest limits, or met the bounty hunter trolls, or realized we didn’t have to stay separated anymore.” he didn't add that they might not have been told of the other trolls at all, as he wanted to ask Peppy his reasons for staying silent; even after Poppy took over as queen and with his own honesty of his mind going.

“...True. And Cooper would have gone the rest of his life separated from his family.” Poppy said slowly, but sounding more like herself, just very tired. "Still caused everyone to turn gray. I don't know which is worse. A life without music, or a life forced into something we're not."

Branch didn't have an answer for her. His face went blank as he tried not to think about his intimate experience with both states. This was not the time for that line of thinking; it was definitely gonna lead to his own breakdown. He'd wait until Poppy was gone and he was alone.

Poppy stopped pacing, rubbed her forehead with her palms, and sighed so bonedeep she visibly shrank. Branch stayed quiet, the room seeming to lighten up a little. After a few minutes Poppy walked back to Branch’s side and sat down again. Then to Branch’s surprise she settled down with her head in his lap. She closed her eyes and took one of his hands and placed it on her head. Branch froze up. If there was ever a sign a troll trusted another it was with each other's hair. Even hairdresser trolls needed to get to know their clients before ever touching their hair. Unsolicited touch leads to... _problems_. The fact the pair had linked hair during the roller skate ride was as close to saying that they really trusted each other as it got.

Branch smiled softly. Then gently ran his fingers through Poppy’s hair. He didn't feel anything inside which made him frown in growing fury but thankfully he could push that emotion down. For all he knew Poppy cleared out her hair to better hide the Pop String. He found the clasp holding her new crown to her head and slid the whole thing off, going for the tie next. Hair released, Poppy fully relaxed her body, only moving the other hand up to hold Branch's free hand.

"I love you Branch.”

Branch chuckled like the lovestruck troll he was; his cheeks warm and ears twitching. “I know, you told me back at the stadium.”

“And I’m gonna keep telling you, for as long as you want to hear it. If you can stand a stubborn, one track minded, trouble finding, everything is cupcakes and roses queen of, not the whole of a race but 1/6th of one.”

“If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you years ago. Besides, if not for those traits of yours everything would have ended way worse. The tour, everyday life here...the Bergans. _Everything._ ”

Poppy opened her eyes sleepily and saw he was looking down at her, eyes hooded and soft. “Really?”

“I swear by the Mother Tree, and our Ancestors.”

“Well I Swear by the Mother Tree and our Ancestors that none of that would have been possible without you,” she smirked and giggled. “Your serious, pragmatic way of doing things and seeing the world saved my hair and everyone else's more times than I can count.”

“We make quite the team huh,” Branch chuckled, using his hair to flip the lever on the side of the couch. His legs, the speed controlled by him, lifted up and the pair shifted until they were both comfortable. They could clean up later.

“Always have, even if it took a long time to get here.” Poppy yawned, the whole day and ordeal finally making her body tired as her mind was.

To be honest, the last time she really slept was the few hours before taking off with Shelia B. She didn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel, of course. Even when Branch joined her she couldn't really sleep for fear he would bring them back to the village. Not to say she didn't trust him; but as an understanding that Branch sometimes did what _he_ thought was the right choice. He'd gone behind her back before and while she'd done the same, it still made her sleeping moments brief. Waking up and seeing they were still flying high and far over lands they had never seen before was a relief.

That day was busy with finding the wreckage of the Classical trolls mountains, the Country troll mishap, and the later break out. Then the whole thing with Chaz and Biggie left her so twisted up and confused she maybe dozed off for twenty minutes after that. The rest of the night until the early morning she laid in her sleeping bag staring up at the stars. They seemed to be the only things to have not changed for the last few days. Then everything else happened and she wasn’t stupid enough to sleep while in a cage, no Pop troll would. Not while alone anyway; in that case they'd take turns.

Really she’d been running off of hope, trust and gumdrops after losing access to Hickory’s coffee machine. If she was a different troll she might have tried to place blame on her later actions on the lack of sleep. But Poppy wasn’t a different troll. She was herself. And as herself she, looking back, could say that her problems with listening started a long time before the past week. At least she knew that now and could be a better Queen and friend for it. Even if she didn't think she was totally wrong. Maybe when she saw the other leaders again, she could explain what she meant before.

“Branch. Could you sing something?” she asked, already slipping away to dreamland. Branch nodded though she couldn’t see and after a moment the soft singing of an angel filled the room.

_“Breathe and I'll carry you away into the velvet sky_

_And we'll stir the stars around and watch them fall away_

_Into the Party Bay and plummet out of sight and sound_

_The open summer breeze will sweep you through the hills_

_Where I live in the under ground_

_Below the starlit lights I spend my coldest nights alone awake_

_And thinking of the weekend we were in love_

Poppy's breathing slowed as she fell asleep. Branch closed his eyes as he followed, his singing getting softer than a snowflake.

_I am floating away lost in a silent ballet_

_I'm dreaming you're out in the blue and I am right beside you_

_Awake to take in the view_

_Late nights and early parades_

_Still photos and noisy arcades_

_My darling we're both on the wing_

_Look down and keep on singing and we can go anywhere_

_Are you there_

_Are you there_

_Are you there?”_

Song: On the Wing

By: Adam Young of Owl City

Some lines were removed or slightly edited to make sense within the world.

No copyright infringement intended, if I did this wrong please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we end here, on my first finished 3 part story! Woohoo!
> 
> I want to thank you guys out there that read this and enjoyed it. I'm especially proud to add that I finished my own edits of this chapter during nanowrimo and I still Won! The streak is still alive, even if the story itself needs lots of work. But I digress.
> 
> Thanks for y'alls song and music suggestions. I have ideas for several chapters and plots with them in mind. Also as the new show has arrived I might add things from that. Don't worry I will make sure to tag as much. Also thanks for the reviews, kudo's and hits, I really appreciate them all.

**Author's Note:**

> ~Clean~ Song suggestions are welcome in the comments, I strive to keep my works PG. At least where language and innuendos are concerned, this is a universe with canonical sentient life eating so. I might not use them but who knows.


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